I'm sure many of you are aware, but Fritz Lang's complete version of his sci-fi masterpiece METROPOLIS will be doing the rounds this summer before premiering on DVD and Blu-ray in NOVEMBER by Kino. This is the closest thing we will ever experience of Lang's 1927 premiere in Germany before the 153-minute print got horribly butchered in America. In 2008, they found a badly deteriorated copy in Buenos Aires, Argentina; after a 2-year restoration costing $850,000, it's now complete for audiences to see (only a couple of minor shots/scenes weren't salvagable). In February of this year, it was finally unveiled in Berlin to a tremendous reception. In America it will be shown in these select cities...

I fell in love with Metropolis in 1994. It opened my eyes to the whole world of early German cinema. I own three copies of the film, the strangest being a 1984 reissue from Vestron Video with a soundtrack that included songs by Freddy Mercury, Bonnie Tyler and Loverboy. It was as strange as it sounds.

"Movies are suppose to be big - If they're not big, they're television"- Whoopi Goldberg

Selk wrote:I fell in love with Metropolis in 1994. It opened my eyes to the whole world of early German cinema. I own three copies of the film, the strangest being a 1984 reissue from Vestron Video with a soundtrack that included songs by Freddy Mercury, Bonnie Tyler and Loverboy. It was as strange as it sounds.

Was that the Giorgio Moroder version? I remember seeing that.Vestron Video <sigh>

"The most dementing of all modern sins: the inability to distinquish excellence from success."-David Hare

It's funny you mention that because when I think of that time the Warner packaging is exactly the thing I most associate with it.

It was a grey box with red stripes, I remember those. Reminded me of the box for the E.T. Atari game.

I have a copy of The Wall in one of those boxes. The back of the box doesn't have a description of the film but rather a list of "upcoming releases".

I also remember about 1990, Paramount was trying to get creative with their tapes. The tape for Ghost was light grey, the tape for The Hunt for Red October was red and the tapes for The Godfather Part III were gold. That didn't last long.

The WORST video distribution company was Good Times Video. They seemed to specialize in putting films on video that were such poor quality that you could hardly see them. I remember getting a copy of Metropolis from GT Video with a quality that looked like it had been buried in the ground and then run over by a truck. Yick!

"Movies are suppose to be big - If they're not big, they're television"- Whoopi Goldberg

A few years ago, I saw what was then the most complete print (one from the F.W. Murnau Foundation); it was missing some scenes, but the print was good. Best of all, it was shown with a live music score from a vintage Wurlitzer non-electronic organ. It was a great experience.

I'll have to see if I can make it to one of the showings. I wish they were closer to NJ or PA, though.

There is a version that runs over 2 hours. It is the one that came out in 2001 that incorporates all available footage. It was about 40 minutes longer than any version I had ever seen. I was quite surprised at how the extra scenes fleshed out the story. I can't wait to see the complete version.

One thing worries me: Those new scenes shown in the trailer are grainy and hard to see. I hope that the finished version doesn't look like that.

"Movies are suppose to be big - If they're not big, they're television"- Whoopi Goldberg

Selk wrote:One thing worries me: Those new scenes shown in the trailer are grainy and hard to see. I hope that the finished version doesn't look like that.

Don't get your hopes up. I'm willing to bet that some of the reinserted footage looks worse. There is only so much you can do to salvage damaged material, and Kino isn't exactly Warner Bros. when it comes to restoration budgets. I would rather see the footage in that condition than not at all.

Don't get your hopes up. I'm willing to bet that some of the reinserted footage looks worse. There is only so much you can do to salvage damaged material, and Kino isn't exactly Warner Bros. when it comes to restoration budgets. I would rather see the footage in that condition than not at all.

The most distressing news about the restoration was that most of the footage was further gone then they had hoped. One scene, I know, was at the end of one of the reels and was so far-gone that they couldn't restore it.

I'm not expecting it to look pristine, but I'd be happy with whatever they have.

"Movies are suppose to be big - If they're not big, they're television"- Whoopi Goldberg